Parking has become one of the most consistently divisive topics in Boston, a city with areas of profound gridlock and winding streets experiencing a population and development boom. So the question of where residents park their cars – or if the the city should be accommodating more vehicles at all – sparked an impassioned discussion at a City Council hearing on Tuesday.

At a session convened by councillor Frank Baker, Michael Flaherty and Bill Linehan pressed for ensuring adequate parking for drivers already on the road. Others noted the environmental and infrastructural effects from resources dedicated to parking.

“We need to talk about parking not just in context of whether someone can get to the store and find space to leave a vehicle while going inside, but as a choice the city is making in how to allocate very scarce resources in terms of physical space of streets,” said Council President Michelle Wu. “What amount is going to on-street parking as opposed to other infrastructure?”

Parking and transit considerations in Boston have to balance the needs of downtown businesses with the needs of residential areas, all while being economical about the limited amount of available space in the city, said Chris Osgood, Boston’s Chief of Streets.

Osgood touted the digital resources for drivers, including paying for tickets, noting that 65 percent of all parking transactions are now conducted digitally. Osgood said a pilot program to direct new and more parking revenue toward communities would be presented to the council by the end of the year, as would a study of transportation options throughout Boston.

Efforts are needed to make parking “more convenient, better managed, or less needed,” he added, noting that initiatives like the Drive Boston program and the bike-share service Hubway are being expanded to incentivize residents to consider downsizing the number of vehicles they need to own.